Former Parti Quebecois boss Bernard Landry, seen here in 2010, spoke to The Gazette about Quebec election campaign. His advice to the leaders of all parties is not to make 'irresponsible' promises.Vincenzo D'Alto
/ Gazette file photo

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Election promises are a way to sell dreams, former Parti Québécois premier Bernard Landry says, but making them come true is tied to some very down-to-earth, volatile realities.

Buying into those promises means having faith in the person who is holding out that golden apple.

Take François Legault, the former PQ cabinet minister now heading the Coalition Avenir Québec.

“He ... threatened my leadership for two years because I wasn’t moving fast enough on sovereignty,” said Landry, who was premier from March 2001 until April 2003.

Legault has promised not to talk about sovereignty for a decade. Last week, he said he would vote no if a PQ government held a referendum, a message Landry finds odd coming from “one of the most sovereignist of all my colleagues,” suggesting voters should have major doubts about Legault.

Landry, who was elected five times as an MNA and leader of the PQ for four years, suggests “willpower, courage and a good economy” are the three ingredients needed for promises to become policy.

In an interview with The Gazette on Wednesday, Landry said there are some good, strong promises being floated in the three-way campaign. Obviously partisan, he professed pride in the PQ, but admitted the two other big parties mean this campaign is more competitive.

The three main parties have yet to release financial details on their promises, but are expected to do so by Sunday, when the first of four leaders’ debates is televised.

No matter which party is making the promises, Landry said politicians owe it to themselves and voters “to be responsible and honest.”

He cited the 2003 vow Liberal leader Jean Charest made during a TV debate with Landry that “he would solve the problems in emergency rooms in a few weeks” as a spectacularly empty promise.

“That was a totally irresponsible promise,” said Landry, who claims he never made a promise he later regretted.

Landry said today’s uncertain economic situation in the United States, Greece, France, Spain and Portugal — countries with huge debt loads — make it tougher to make political promises.

“All states must aim for balanced budgets as soon as possible,” Landry explained, noting the PQ and the Liberal Party maintained zero deficits for one term each. “But the 2008 crisis happened and the state had to intervene a little more.”

While the parties need to acknowledge the crisis period has eased, they must understand “that we cannot spend endlessly more than we earn.

“It’s true for a family, for an individual and for a government.”

Landry said the three-way race and social media are keeping politicians on their toes more than in the past.

“I don’t agree with all the ideas on the table, but there are a lot,” said Landry, 75, a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal’s management school. “And that makes it interesting.”

The arrival of the Coalition Avenir Québec in what has generally been two-party turf “means more ideas, which in a way compensates” for the added complexity.

“I don’t agree with most of the ideas of François Legault or the CAQ,” Landry said. But “when he (Legault) speaks about productivity, I think that everyone must agree.”

Legault, a former cabinet colleague of Landry’s when Legault was still in the PQ, said this week that young Quebecers should be more productive.

Election promises can embody a people’s aspirations at a given moment, and also reflect the democratic process at the party level, Landry said.

“Obviously, to be elected one must try in the most honest way possible to live up to the desires of the voters. It doesn’t mean you do anything to please them, but that is part of it.”

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